Online Business Effectiveness What Makes It

Writen by David Moore

What makes an on-line business effective are the same ingredients that make any business effective. The only difference is that in an on-line business we don't see our customers. We don't see the other people who work in our business. We don't see most of the people we bring in to the business. But the principles are the same.

I did a research study a while back to find out the out the most common factors of effective businesses. My study design was a meta-analysis. All that means is that I studied what other people had already studied about what causes businesses to be effective, and I listed the factors that were most often mentioned. The meta-analysis approach is considered the most powerful of research studies, meaning the results are considered the most valid.

After pouring over all the literature on successful business practices my findings boiled down to the following core.

1. Effective businesses build into their organization a culture of change because their leaders seem to understand, as William Bridges put it, that "unless organizations change and change quickly they will not survive." That makes sense. I teach cultural anthropology at a local University. I teach my students that one of the fundamental features of culture is that all cultures are always changing, and cultures today change more rapidly than ever before in history. And of course people change. The defining measurements of the pre-computer Cold War age was fear, control, and protection.

According to New York Times Pulitzer price winner Thomas Friedman, the defining measurement globalization is speed. The most frequently asked question in the business world used to be, "whose side are you on?" The most frequently asked questions today is "to what extent are you connected to everyone?" According to the Central Intelligence Agency's Fact Book, there were 934 million internet users in 2004. It is estimated that there will be 416 million new internet users by 2007. At that rate 16,000 new users enter the world of the internet every hour of every day. That's change and that's speed. The most successful businesses understand this and they are constantly adapting to tap into the resources these new users represent.

2. Effective businesses share information. The reason for this is expressed best by Sally Helgesen. "Withholding information and power from others assumes they are incapable of handling it and it deprives the business of a rich and powerful resource." Let's face it, trade secrets don't exist in today's information rich, speed-driven world anyway. Effective businesses also share information because they want everyone to see how the whole organization functions. This enhances understanding and in doing so enhances commitment, a powerful principle for business effectiveness.

3. Effective businesses have a high tolerance for mistakes. That's because no mistakes mean no experiments. It demoralizes and reduces creative insights that could literally catapult a business to higher performance. Edison was ridiculed for spending almost every waking hour of every day trying to find a way to produce light through connectors inside of a glass bulb. When asked why he didn't quit and spend his time on more productive activities he answered, "each time something doesn't work I'm that much closer to finding the solution because I've eliminated one more application I know doesn't work." So effective businesses tolerate mistakes. And in operating an on-line business you will make more mistakes, and so will your affiliates, and you'll be tempted to give up and quit, but you must remember that every mistake you make is a valuable learning experience, and you are one step closer to discovering the light that will generate the wealth you seek.

4. Effective businesses focus on the mission. I often refer to Peter Drucker as the mentor I never met. He's over 90 years of age and has written some 100 books on management principles. I've read most of them. According to Drucker, effective businesses "constantly ask, 'what is our mission. What are our goals. They do not start with the question 'what do I want.' They start out asking 'what needs to be done?" Effective businesses do this because they know if they are to survive long-term they have to have a reason for being beyond just making money. That's why the mission statement of MacDonald's is "to be the world's best quick service restaurant experience…so that we can make every customer in every restaurant smile." Coincidentally, MacDonald's has also made a lot of money. If your only goal in wanting to get into the on-line business field is to make a lot of money for yourself you may achieve some short-term success. But you won't find ultimate happiness. You'll squander your earnings and wind up in worse shape than you are now. Look at the many retired professional athletes who made millions during their careers and are now living in poverty. These aren't the ones you read about, but they are by far the majority. Mike Tyson is probably the most noted example.

5. Effective businesses teach. This may surprise you, but I found in the most successful income generating businesses their in-service training related more to behavioral than to skills training. That's because effective businesses leaders know that what is needed most from employees is commitment, and commitment comes from values. They want people who have values beyond the workplace and who are in tune with their inner selves more than they want people who have a specialized skill. That's because that specialized skill, lacking a commitment to a cause, can go anywhere anytime and cause the business to lose a valuable asset. And the wise business leader knows that the best way to evoke commitment is by emphasizing both organizational and personal values in everything that is communicated.

I hope you understand what I am about to say and you will not take it as high brow or self-promoting because it illustrates an important point on the principle of teaching. People often ask what my wife and I did that caused our children to become such responsible adults who really have their lives together. What kinds of rules did we have while the children were growing up? Were we demanding about homework and chores, etc.? Today our two sons and one daughter are all not only active, but they are leaders in church and community service endeavors. No they're not perfect and if they read this they would say, "Dad, you're exaggerating. We made a lot of poor decisions when we were young." But none of those poor decisions invalidated the values they were taught and that became implanted into their hearts that make them what they are today.

And you know what? We didn't have a lot of rules. In fact we were pretty lax about when they went to bed and how much television they watched. Now I'm sure we made mistakes, but what we did do is emphasize values and tried to be an example of the values we taught them - values like honesty, integrity, caring for and being concerned about others, sharing, trusting, etc.

I'll never forget the day our daughter, who at the time was 18 years of age, was driving past a major intersection with her younger 9 year old brother in the car with her. She saw a man standing at the corner holding up a sign saying he needed money. Rachael drove to the nearest MacDonald's, purchased a Big Mac Meal drove back and parked the car near that same intersection, and asked her brother to go over and hand the Big Mac meal to that man holding up the sign. All three of our children have been doing things like this ever since. Why? Because they learned that we should take every opportunity we have to help another person in need, and they learned another important principle. The more we give the more we get back. It's an eternal principle and it is fail proof.

So to summarize, if you want to be an effective on-line business entrepreneur incorporate these 5 principles of demonstrated effectiveness and you cannot help but succeed.

1. Build into your system a culture of change so you will have the capacity to adapt and respond quickly.

2. Share information freely so others can benefit from what you have learned.

3. Tolerate the mistakes of others so they can be freed to experiment with new ideas.

4. Focus on the mission so you will always be in tune with your reason for being as an on-line business.

5. Teach others and don't get too caught up in teaching skills and techniques because competency alone will never satisfy the deep longings of the soul. You also need to teach values.

About the Author: David Moore is a member of the Wealth Online Website system. He is a home based online business entrepreneur and teaches at University (part-time). Dave has also served on the administrative staff of a faith-based humanitarian aid organization. He has completed post graduate programs in both Cross Cultural Communications and Higher Education Administration. He believes that all self-generated wealth must include a provision for giving back to the commmunity, the church, and other worthy causes. If you would like more information on his online business, please visit his website at: http://www.DavidMoore.ws

Exporters Forecast Coffee Price Hike In Big Apple

Writen by Vasily A. Klimko

Exporters of coffee found a new place where the merchandise earns its price hike. New York City, the location of most coffee shops in the world, is said to be the place where coffee's price will increase over 20% in the forthcoming months. The beans will most likely outstrip other important merchandises to exporters like silver and copper.

Procter & Gamble Co., the company that creates Folgers coffee brand, and Kraft Foods Inc., the manufacturer of Maxwell House coffee are the two companies that have high purchase need for the said beans. Coffee exporters and vendors are resorting to arabica coffee beans that are highly marketed particularly in the said city, after a more affordable kind of beans known as robusta made a recovery in its price after a period of decline in Britain last August.

Raymond Keane, a trader who works for one of US' major exporters of coffee beans that delivers the beans for PG and Kraft, said that the rise in robusta's cost will bring other grades of coffee into the market. In the meantime, Michael Coleman, the managing director to Aisling Analytics said that the price of coffee beans in the Big Apple might possibly reach up to $1.30 per pound on the following year. He also added arabica beans are much cheaper at approximately $1.08 compared to robusta, which has raised its price to over 25 percent.

The International Coffee Organization (ICO), on the other hand, believe that there will be two percent increase in the worldwide consumption of coffee to seven million tons. ICO is the intergovernmental organization of coffee exporters and importers from different nations. The body based in London helps in promoting and increasing the worldwide consumption of coffee, and in boosting the quality of the globe's famous beans to prevent the downfall of world coffee prices. This predicted increase will be pushed through by Starbucks Corp., the popular coffee shop based in Seattle, Washington.

Most coffee beans produced, specifically arabica, comes from Brazil. But on the contrary, Conab, the agency that forecasts crop production for the said country's agricultural department declared that on the coming years, its farms might not be able to hit the same production rate that it had this year. The Brazilian government recently increased its appraisal of coffee production over 40 million bags, which weighs 60 kilos of coffee per bag. Exporters said that the coffee production of Brazil might soon degenerate since the coffee farms take their brakes after large harvest periods. The dry season also affects the Brazil's coffee farms since the blossoming of coffee flowers on October can be harmed by the absence of rainfall.

In London, the price of coffee jumped steadily last year after the harvesting in Vietnam decreased because of the dry season. While Brazil is deemed as the largest producer of arabica coffee, the said Asian nation, on the other hand, is considered among the major exporters of robusta grade coffee in the market. The global supply for coffee suffered from a huge decline because growers and exporters stopped raising trees after the plenitude that occurred five years ago.

For more valuable information on Exporters, please visit http://www.toboc.com

How To Make Your Stiffest Competitor Your Best Joint Venture Partner

Writen by Jim Edwards

When someone threatens us, we instinctively look for ways to either avoid, evade or protect ourselves from the perceived threat.

In business, where money, security, and even our family's future rides on our every move, anyone or anything we perceive as a "threat" usually causes us to go into "protection" mode.

Once in "protection" mode, we close off to all possibilities except avoiding or defeating the threat.

On the flipside, anything or anyone we see as able to help us build our business, expand our reach, or improve our profitability, makes us instinctively think of ways we can use that to our advantage.

Once you understand this simple fact, it's easy to see how YOU can to turn your biggest competitors into your best Joint Venture (JV) partners.

"Competitor" is nothing more than a label someone else places on you because they see you as wanting to get the same thing they want (from a limited supply).

In other words, if 100 customers exist, and your "competitor" perceives you as basically selling the same thing they do, then the race is on to see who can get the biggest share of those 100 customers.

This behavior stems from a "scarcity" mentality of "The pie is only so big and I need the biggest piece possible!"

My advice: STOP trying to divide up the same pie.

Bake a NEW PIE and get your competitors to *SELL* IT FOR YOU!

Any competitor you see in the marketplace can actually turn into your best Joint Venture ally and strongest sales person if you know what to do.

Your job is simply to find out how you can complement what they do rather than compete head-to-head with them.

For example: I sell an ebook (2 actually) on how to sell thousands of ebooks on the Internet.

The material comes directly from my experience of actually *doing* it - rather than regurgitating what others have done.

Since I already have two ebooks on "ebooks" I have no interest in promoting someone else's ebook on the same subject.

In fact, I get rather snitty when they ask because it shows their complete ignorance of this principal.

On the other hand, what if they baked a "new pie?"

What if they created a piece of software that made converting Word docs to PDF a snap and cost a fraction of the price for Adobe Acrobat?

What if they baked a pie that made it simple for ebook authors to automatically post their ebook for sale on all the different online bookstores out there?

What if they created an easy-to-use system to help ebook authors get their ebooks listed on Amazon and gave me a cut of the action when I sent them new customers?

What if they created a system that made it easy for ebook authors to offer a copy of their ebook on CD or in hard copy form without expensive set up fees?

NOW WE'RE TALKING about things that, in my mind, would immediately take them out of the "competitor" category and place them in the "I'd like to know more about you" category.

So if you want to bake a new pie (get your competitors to view you as a friend and seek you out as a JV partner), follow this three step formula.

First, step back from the marketplace and see what the vast majority of people in your marketplace are selling, promoting, or offering (they're all doing virtually the same things).

Second, think about how you can help them AND their customers get MORE of what they want faster by complementing what they already do and not competing with them.

Third, wrap your product or service in a way that your new ally can not only make more money or more sales of both your product and theirs, but also make their customers even happier as a result.

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved The Net Reporter Ezine

About the Author: Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links... Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com

Common Budgeting Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

Writen by Carl Timson

Great business ideas and bold marketing plans are useless if you do not budget carefully. In this article we explore some of the most common budgeting mistakes and how you can avoid them.

Do not count taxable amounts as company holdings

It is easy to forget that the balance in the company's bank account does not represent the true holding value of the company. Remember that if you exceed the VAT threshold, a certain amount will be owed as VAT each quarter and that you will have to pay corporation tax at the end of the company's financial year. By counting the entire amount of what is in the bank account as holdings, you risk making purchases that the business cannot afford.

Do not ignore your cash flow situation

Cash flow problems are caused by a time lag between when you pay your suppliers and when you receive money from your customers, and they are at the root of many companies' failures. Try and manage your cash flow by chasing up late payments and not spending money that you have not yet received. Do not over promise and under deliver

It is often the case that you can generate repeat business from existing customers and that it is easier to do this than to hunt for completely new business. By over promising and under delivering you risk disappointing your customers and losing any future business that they may have put your way. It is far better to under promise and over deliver so that you exceed their expectations.

Do not mismanage your advertising finances

When building the cost of advertising into your business accounts be careful not to show these costs as a percentage of sales in the same period. Bear in mind that advertising normally takes a certain amount of time before it yields sales. Make sure that you have accumulated an advertising budget before you commit any money and that you have built projected returns properly into your accounts.

On Stop's Improving and Managing Cashflow Programme is designed to accelerate payment and alert members to customers with bad payment histories.

The Rhino Principle

Writen by Rohail I. Rizvi

The Principle

I remember reading about the Rhino Principle in Forbes Magazine a few months ago. The basic theme behind it is doing what the rhino does best: Charge! The rhino as an animal has survived for so many years because of its undying single-mindedness and natural aggressiveness towards achieving a single goal. The rhino is not particularly clever, nor is it unsusceptible to the other animals in the Savannah. However, it takes initiative when it sees something it wants and leaves all other thoughts of pessimism or doubt behind. Apply this same mindset in your own lives, whether it is as an entrepreneur or in any other aspect of your life. Take on that project you've been procrastinating on for months or ask that girl you've been meaning to talk to in your Chemistry class. Focus on a single goal and put all your energy into reaching that goal.

Stay Focused

As entrepreneurs, we sometimes have a tendency to do all things at once. We want to take on every little side project, approach every single potential contact, and at the same time become the next Microsoft or eBay. In reality, however, it makes much more sense to stick to that one project you have huge hopes for and put all your energy into that project. Don't spread yourself out too thin, no matter how beneficial you may think your side projects may be. Nothing is more important than focusing on your most important project and giving it all you got.

Mini-Goals

You have high hopes for your project and you know where you eventually want to be with it. Whether you dream of one day going public or selling your company for millions of dollars, you probably have an idea of where you want to get with your project. However, it is absolutely essential that you set aside "mini-goals"; smaller goals that will help you get to your main one. While one can't plan for everything, it is necessary for you to have a plan , as well as goals detailing where you want to be with your project at what time. Do you want 10% market share in 5-years? Or do you want 30% market share in 5-years? It is crucial that you set up these mini-goals so you know how to gauge your progress. Further, make sure you apply the Rhino Principle to each one of your mini-goals to help you achieve your end goal.

I was able to find the original article published by Forbes Magazine and included a link to it in the resource box. I highly recommend that you read the entire article.

I have applied this principle many times in my own life and most recently in my efforts to launch www.walamu.com. I assure you if you take the Rhino Principle to heart, you will be able to achieve tasks in a much more quick and appropriate way than ever before as I have seen the same results with www.walamu.com.

http://www.forbes.com/work/free_forbes/2006/0130/031.html?partner=rss

Buying Jewelry For Your Business Part 2 Buying Sterling Silver Jewelry

Writen by Sam Serio

Whether you presently own a retail or web based business and are looking for an additional profit center or you are thinking of starting a business, jewelry is a "no-brainer" choice for a proven product category. The buying public, (particularly women) never tires of jewelry as the choices in color, materials, finishes and styles are endless and innovations are continual. Every generation reinvents jewelry for itself in much the same way that it reinvents music and fashion. Styles change but the basic facts remain the same. If you are a seasoned professional, please consider the following a refresher course. To the new comer, use this information as a foundation for your ongoing jewelry education.

The Facts About Sterling Silver Jewelry

Sterling silver jewelry is enjoying an unprecedented popularity with today's fashion conscious public. You know how beautiful sterling silver jewelry is and how brilliantly it shines. Now here is the rest of the story.

Silver has been used since ancient times, but has not survived as well as ancient gold because it tarnishes and decomposes. There have been times, however, when silver was "in"; we are going through such a vogue today.

Silver is the commonest of the precious metals. Fine silver is pure silver, which is seldom used for jewelry because it is too soft. Sterling silver is 925 parts silver to 75 of copper, the alloy most often used. Silver weighs about half as much as gold, has greater flexibility, but is not as malleable, it has always been less expensive as well. A comparable piece of gold jewelry might cost four or five times that of a piece of sterling silver jewelry.

The current fashion trend toward black clothing has made silver jewelry more popular than ever. Silver likes to be worn; it stays cleaner & shinier through movement and friction. So sterling silver is a perfect accessory for today's fast paced lifestyles. Much like gold, sterling silver needs to be cleaned.

Sam Serio is an Internet Marketer, musician and a writer on the subject of jewelry and gemstones. For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of "How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off." This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at http://www.morninglightjewelry.com

Reality Of Industry Associations

Writen by Lance Winslow

In the United States price collusion and predatory pricing are illegal. Yet if you look out to industry associations you often see groups of businesses beginning together and discussing pricing, sales strategies and method of operations. One could say this is price-fixing. Worse off agencies like the Federal Trade Commission often side with businesses in industry associations to work with them in self policing policies. One would suppose that this helps the Federal Trade Commission watch over an industry without spending much time or costs in enforcement.

Unfortunately, for the consumer these industry associations often attack their own; that is to say the industry association and its members will go after the newcomer entrepreneur who comes into the industry gangbusters with low prices. Such a competitive upstart company will make waves in the industry and thus be a target of the association. The association working along with the government agency such as the Federal Trade Commission simply has to have its lawyers who generally are working pro bono as they are already on staff at one of the industry associations members companies turn the Company in on trumped up charges of some rule or regulation.

About the only thing that the Federal Trade Commission is good for use to use to attack your competing companies. You see if the government attacks them, then they are out of the way for you to charge higher prices and continue the collusion with those in the industry association. It's all perfectly legal, except for one thing the Federal Trade Commission who was sworn to uphold truth, justice in the American way is enjoined whether knowingly or not in the price collusion scheme. If the Federal Trade Commission does so unknowingly then they are stupid. If they do it knowingly they're breaking the law. Either way this is not a good thing for consumers, the taxpayer or the American public. Consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Strange Internet Businesses Make Money

Writen by Halstatt Pires

Coming up with a profitable site that will make money can be a bit of a challenge. If you get a little strange, you can make money hand over foot. Don't laugh!

Strange Internet Businesses Make Money

Okay, let us be clear about one thing. We are not talking about porn sites or anything else of that nature. When we talk about strange Internet businesses, we are really talking about a very particular niche market.

A niche is simply a segment of a business area or subject that isn't discussed much, but has a lot of consumer interest. The classic example of a niche market is Star Trek. The show has spawned a legion of fans. Those fans go to conventions, buy every kind of Star Trek product imaginable and generally are very loyal to the brand. Although some people consider Star Trek fans to be a bit weird, they are a representative market.

One approach to making money on the Internet is to focus on a very particular niche. Adult web sites are the biggest revenue producers on the web. Regardless of your view of those sites, they offer an important lesson. Every single adult site is a niche site. Revenue studies show the adult sites that are very niche defined absolutely rake in the cash. This is a lesson you should take to heart.

Focusing on a niche market has some serious advantages. The level of competition in the niche is almost always going to be lower than in a more general market. Since there are fewer competitors, you will be able to become a leading figure in the niche should you so desire. This leads to publicity and so on. This is good. Very good!

Going with a niche market is a great idea, but finding a strange niche is even better. Strange niches tend to have a smaller population of interested people [i.e. potential customers], but they are also ready to buy if you can provide them with something they have been looking for but can't find. Just as important, they will come back to buy more and tell there friends. This is also very good.

A classic example of a strange Internet business is gourds. It took me some time to figure it out, but gourds are melon-like bulbs. Apparently, people like to dry them out and then paint on them. A lot of people like to do this – maybe 50,000 searches a month are undertaken for gourd keywords. A few years back, there was almost no competition for rankings. You can guess what happened. Gourd sites started popping up everywhere. I apologize for saying this if you are a gourd fan, but painting gourds is just strange. This makes it a perfect Internet business!

So, where do you find strange internet business ideas? You have to hunt. Ah, you knew it wouldn't be that easy, eh? A good place to start looking is your own life. What odd little things do you like that you don't tell anyone about. Do some keyword research to see if there are others out there sharing your quirk. If so, you have the perfect Internet business because you know something about it and have some passion for the quirk.

I'm off to paint a gourd.

Halstatt Pires is an internet marketing consultant with MarketingTitan.com. Visit us to read more Internet marketing articles.

Successful Project Ideas

Writen by Craig Dawber

Different projects have different characteristic. All of us would like to work on projects that will in most cases be successful.

For progress and development in business, it is important to re-evaluate the projects you are pursuing and refine the business direction you are moving in keeping in mind the resources at your disposal and the goals you have set for a particular project. When running our own business, also, we try to choose the projects that suit our lifestyle and personal goals and the ones that best fit the changing world with respect to the technology and environment.

One would like to choose the projects that have high probability of success and reduce the risk exposure for you. The projects that have more likelihood of success have the following characteristics:

· Once the product is created, the same product can be sold over and over again very few ongoing changes in the product are required

· The product has use for customers who have the ability and would like to spend money for the product

· The product selling process can be automated

· Little or no inventory requirements, very few employees, no office overhead needed to run project

· No presence of partnerships, no revenue splits, no requirement of dependence on others for legal or financial requirements

· Minimal project start-up cost and very low overheads and only basic ongoing management requirements after project has taken off

· Breakeven point can be achieved after only a few sales are completed

· Very few or no downside risks are there, for example no foreseeable legal or moral problems are there

All the above characteristics will not be found in many projects, but more the number of success characteristics that a project has higher are the chances of success in that project, and reduction of risk exposure. Along with the project characteristics, one also needs to analyze ones own capability in terms of ones skill sets and the resource availability. A few of the projects that have the above characteristics are given below.

Subscription Website related

Offer information and content related products for example articles, tutorials, tips on various subjects etc

Offer applications on taps, for example with a click on your subscription website you could allow them to download some custom made applications or other applications that are not easily available Producing/Marketing DVDs

How to DVDs and Videos for various complicated products so that people can get a demo kind of experience and have a tutorial at hand, all the time.

licensing out the sale of the how-to DVDs and videos, for certain products, that are created in house, to somebody else Conducting Trainings

Conducting training workshops on use of various software applications or web applications

Producing videos of these training workshops and selling them or licensing the sales process to an outside vendor Creating Software applications and Tools

Creating custom made software and tools (add ons to existing technologies) to be sold to tech customers who may need them. Also licensing the sale of these tools and software applications created in house to an outside party.

Creating successful business applications like subscription websites and giving the ownership rights to another person for a price.

A number of project ideas that may have the characteristics of low risk exposure, high returns, short breakeven points are there, but everyone can not succeed at all the ideas. You have to figure out which business idea will suit your aptitude and what skill sets do you possess to run that particular business.

This article was written by Craig Dawber of smarket.co.uk Need advice and guidance with your online business check out the resources found in this website.

Estimates On How Much Companies Will Spend To Resolve The Options Backdating Issue

Writen by Mukund Mohan

First some answers on a not so serious note:

1. Make an estimate, then multiply by 2, divide by 0.134263 and take the square root after adding Pi times the estimate times 12.345

2. Use a dart board and get some friends together to change the numbers to very high 8 figures. The one person that hits the same estimate range on the dart board 3 times is the closest to the estimate.

3. Take a wild swing and at the end of the report, cite the analyst firm IMTSU 2006 (I Made This Stuff Up).

There are 3 portions to the cost of resolving the options backdating issue:

1. Tangible costs - Regulatory fines and expenses - Internal investigation fees - Audit investigation fees - Documentation & restatement fees - Back tax dues and penalties and interest - Share holder lawsuits: Settlement fees, Defense fees

2. Intangible costs - Market capitalization loss - Employee turnover (not easy to guesstimate, but rest assured there will be some) - Internal & external communication expenses - (If delisted): stock appreciation opportunity costs

3. Variable expenses - Reduced revenue from customer becoming nervous about purchasing products

For the 3 companies we have worked with estimating $100 Million for a $3-5 Billion market capitalization in Tangible costs alone is on the average side.

http://blog.vangal.com

What Is Factoring Financing

Writen by Marco Terry

Do you have clients that take 30, 50 or 60 days to pay their invoices? Although having slow paying clients is expected in today's business environment, they make managing cash flow a very difficult task. Paying suppliers, salaries and rent becomes a challenge.

However, there is a way to solve this problem. The solution involves factoring your invoices.

Factoring is a financing tool that allows you to get your invoices paid in as little as 2 days. It provides your company with the necessary capital to operate the business, pay suppliers and grow. However, factoring is not a business loan. Rather, factoring involves selling your invoices at a discount for immediate cash. The factoring company waits to get paid, while you get immediate use of the funds.

Factoring can easily be integrated to any business and works as follows:

1. You deliver goods or services and invoice for them
2. You sell the invoice to the factor. They give you the first installment of 70% to 90% of your invoice. This is called the advance.
3. You get immediate funds to run your business
4. Once the customer pays the factoring company, you get the second installment (of 10% to 30%) and are charged a small fee for the transaction. This is called the rebate

Although factoring costs vary and are based on transaction size and timing, the average cost of a transaction is usually between 1.5% to 3% of the invoice per month.

One major advantage of factoring is that it is easier to obtain than a business loan. Furthermore, the factoring line can be set up in about a week, and the biggest requirement for approval is that do you business with credit worthy clients.

Commercial Capital LLC Are you looking for factoring financing? Commercial Capital is a factoring company that can provide you with a competitive factoring quote. For information, call Marco Terry at (866) 730 1922.

Profit Or A Great Payday And 5 Ps

Writen by James Knipe

The large majority, if not all of the people who would be interested in a home business website would have the idea of increasing or supplementing their incomes uppermost in their minds. Profit or a great payday on a regular basis would be the motive and I list below five words starting with "P". Individually, these words are by no means unique, since much has been said or written about it. However, collectively they could form the nucleus of a great strategy to achieve success. First,

Preparation Prepare yourself for a big learning curve. There is much to be learnt in this business, and it will take time, effort and on the odd occasion a mistake or two. For the majority of people the dream of making a fortune in just one or two hours a day at the start is unrealistic, so be prepared to put in some hard work. The next step is:

Participation It is crucial that very early in your campaign that you sign up with and participate in Forums relating to the area in which you wish to establish your business. These can be a great source of learning, inspiration ad possibly friendships. Also it could help to give you an insight in the successes that others might have achieved, and also the difficulties and setbacks that they might have had. Next,

Practice When you are participating in these forums there is an excellent opportunity for you to post that article, congratulate a person or just make a general comment. Go on, practice makes perfect, as they say, so the more often you do this the more skilful you will become. It is also great preparation for those times when you want to start promoting your own blogs. However,

Patience is required when starting out in this kind of business, as most people will not always have success in the first few days. Do what you need to do in order to succeed and wait patiently for your efforts to produce results. It can be trying at times but just hang in there – if you have followed the examples of people who have already succeeded in this line of business then your patience will surely pay off. And lastly,

Perseverance This area is somewhat linked to patience but speaks more of your determination to continue in spite of setbacks, disappointments and other such circumstances. Your mentors would most likely be people who have made a huge success of running their businesses, and with some encouragement from them there would be no reason to give up. Every so often remind yourself of the reasons that made you want to go into this business in the first place, and that alone should be enough to encourage you never to give up. Finally,

Profits or great paydays will be the rewards of those who are prepared to put in some effort, participate, practice patience and persevere.

About The Author: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing... However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG! Here's how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10055 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Google Yahoo Search Tips And Shortcuts

Writen by Nikki Saco

A person could go myopic sifting through pages of search results from Google and Yahoo! I keep a bottle of eyedrops on my desk just for that reason. Unfortunately, nothing can restore the time I lose by a poorly structured search. In a perfect world, I could immediately guess the most effective keywords that might also be the exact keywords selected by a web developer to tell the search engines how to index a specific page. But, there is very little precision in language and, although choosing the right keywords might help lessen the strain on our eyes and our time, learning the capabilities of our favorite search engines will give us the best results.

For example, did you know that certain keywords, or rather "meta terms" trigger more optimized and immediate search results? Let's say you want to know the current weather in El Paso, Texas. Enter the following as your search terms:

weather el paso

and immediately, you'll see the temperature and forecast for that day. Here's what Google showed me for June 20, 2006, as the top search result. With this information, I had no need to browse any of the other search results.

Weather for El Paso, TX, 93°F Clear, Wind: S at 8 mph, Humidity: 15%
Tue, Mostly Sunny, 100° | 70°
Wed, Mostly Sunny, 99° | 69°
Thu, Mostly Sunny, 97° | 70°
Fri, Mostly Sunny, 95° | 69°

Similarly, you can search current stock quotes by simply plugging in the stock symbols. Go ahead and enter the following as your search term in Google.Com or Yahoo.Com:

GOOG

Then go over to the other of the two search engines and type:

YHOO

The results will tell you that, on June 20, 2006, Google stock was trading at about 10 times the price of Yahoo even though they both give you the same Nasdaq data delayed by only 15 minutes.

Do you want to find the nearest gas station in your area? Type in "gas" and your zip code and you'll immediately see a list that includes the distance from the center of the zip code provided. For example, to view the nearest gas stations to downtown Fort Lauderdale, type:

gas 33301

The nice thing about that search is that you might also get a great link to find relatively current gas prices in your area. I found this MSN link that allows me to search gas prices by zip code:

• http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx

Other keyword shortcuts for Google and Yahoo offer quicker access to currency conversion, airline flight tracking, maps, phone directories, images, definitions and much more. Visit these links to learn more:

• http://www.google.com/help/features.html
• http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/tips/tips-01.html

The conversion features in Google are particularly impressive. Type or paste in the following search terms and check out the results:

pints in a gallon

5 british pounds in south korean money

32 degrees celsius in fahrenheit

In addition to optimized search terms, there are search strategies and special syntaxes that can help to add or filter results as needed. If I were looking for information regarding cardiac disease in this country and wanted to limit it to women, I might include the phrase "American women" in my search, but would I use the phrase "cardiac disease" or "heart disease"? With Google, I can search synonymous terms by adding a tilde [~] immediately in front of a particular keyword as follows:

"American women" ~cardiac disease

I'm not sure if Yahoo has a similar tag designation to allow a search of synonymous terms. Also, notice I placed quotation marks around "American women" which forces the search engines to look for the exact phrase.

Conveniently, both Google and Yahoo recognize certain special syntaxes to increase the effectiveness of a particular search. For example, if you're looking throughout the entire indexed Internet for a specific file type, you would type filetype:[extension] (with no space between filetype: and the [file extension]) and then any additional keyword search you like. Let's say you're looking for available Powerpoint presentations regarding women and heart disease. You could type the following:

filetype:ppt women's heart health

and you would find several informative Powerpoint presentations which tell you heart disease is the leading cause of death among American women, outpacing cancer.

Other popular syntaxes allow you to search a particular site or a site URL (web address). For example, let's say I wanted to search all Yahoo help pages to see if I could find other cool shortcuts. I might try searching (through Google or Yahoo):

help tips site:www.yahoo.com
- or -
yahoo.com inurl:tips

Here are some more great links to help you locate search strategies, shortcuts, tips, and special syntaxes that will save your tired eyes and your limited time:

• http://www.google.com/help/operators.html
• http://faculty.valencia.cc.fl.us/infolit/Google/help.htm
• http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/tips

N. Saco is a contributor and founder of several information web sites, including WomensWebWatch.Com and WetwareSolutions.Com. Her blog is located at InternetExplorerBlog.Com and a copy of this article can be found there. She has a degree in Communications, focusing in critical analysis, a minor in cultural anthropology, and 20 years experience in research, writing and investigation, primarily in medical litigation support. [This article may be freely distributed at no charge to your readers along with the author's bio and web links. Copyright 2006 Nikki Saco. All other rights reserved.]

I Dont Want To Pay For Auto Insurance Whats It For Anyway

Writen by Chadder McD.

There are approximately 20 various types of insurance policies available and auto, home, life and health top the charts.

The concept of insurance has been recorded to be first practiced as far back as 2nd and 3rd millennium B.C. Just about anything you think about or hold value too these days can be insured. Auto or vehicle insurance is one of the most common types of insurance and is a basic policy to protect you against losses incurred from car accidents, theft, vandalism and various other mishaps. Auto insurance can be purchased for different vehicles like cars and trucks as well as recreational items like motorbikes, boats and motor homes. In recent years the internet has been instrumental in helping people to know the various policies available to meet their needs and compare prices.

What's auto insurance for anyway?

Auto insurance is basically a contract between you the customer or car owner and an insurance company. According to this contract you the customer agree to pay a certain amount of money or premium to the insurance company and the company agrees to payout any losses as defined in the policy.

The main items covered in auto insurance policies are:

1. Property: in case of damage or theft of a car the reimbursement is paid under the property coverage.

2. Liability: covers expenses incurred for bodily injury or property damage to the other person and or yourself.

3. Medical expense: medical coverage helps pay for treating injuries, rehabilitation and funeral expenses.

Most insurance policies are valid for six months to one year and need to be renewed before the policy expires to avoid gaps of coverage where you would be liable if something were to happen. Insurance companies will usually notify you by mail when it is time to renew your policy. Insurance companies charge a flat rate premium regardless of how much the vehicle is used. Some insurance companies also offer various types of discounts.

The Benefits of Auto Insurance:

In order to protect your assets and financial situation it is very important to purchase auto insurance, this is the main purpose of auto insurance. Auto insurance is not only important for the protection of your vehicle but also in most countries it is required mandatory by law.

It is very important to conduct a detailed study when buying auto insurance coverage because there are different types of policies with different benefits. Consult an expert before investing in any insurance to ensure you get the right type and best rates possible.

Submitted by Chad McDonald to assist people wanting the cheapest car insurance they can find or looking for recreation vehicle insurance online.

21 Simple Ways To Make More Money From Your Current Clients Part 1

Writen by Teri Mramer

It is easier to make additional money from your current clients than it is to go out and find new ones! See 21 simple ways in this three part article series.

PART ONE:

1. Insert a brochure for another product in the first product package your customer buys from you.

For digital products, this can be done by:

* Adding a "special Offer" to the thank you page

* Add a 2nd Offer to the download page

* Add an affiliate product to your ezine thank you page

* Add a JV partner offer to Ezine sign up thank you page

For physical products, this can be done by:

* Adding a printed "flier" with a sales letter for another product on it

* Adding a flier with several products on it - These could be a "coupon" page

for your products only or for affiliate or JV products

* A printed Newsletter with articles and review of products on it and of course

web urls or a phone order number

* Adding a "giant" sized postcard with a bonus or sale item on it

* Adding your catalog (If you have one) in the box with your physical product

2. Sell a basic product and tell people for a little more money they can receive the deluxe edition.

You can create a deluxe version by adding:

* Audio

* Transcripts

* Templates

* Interviews with experts

* A printed version of an ebook

* Complimentary products. For example a planner with a time saving system or a

calculator with a financial product

3. Give your customers a free subscription to your e-zine and include back end products in each issue.

I recommend always telling your customers they will be added to your follow up list with the new emailing laws. You don't want to assume anything with email anymore.

4. Charge people extra money to get the reproduction rights.

You can expand on this by offering a reprint rights and a master reprint rights where the buyer can also offer reprint rights to their buyers.

5. Send your customers greeting cards at holidays with your back end product offer included.

I recommend that the backend offers are sale priced and geared to the holiday such as birthday or Christmas if you can. If not, just a special offer will be better than a "regular" product.

You can also send thank you cards to clients when they purchase your product.

Ask my students how surprised they were - especially in Australia and England - to get a thank you card in the mail from me when they signed up for my web master training class!

6. Offer your customers a discount if they buy more than one of the same product.

Look for a shopping cart system that has a built in discount for second, third, etc. purchases by the same person.

7. Offer a "Reward Club" to repeat buyers.

This would give discounts, gifts and special offers to repeat buyers. You can also increase the value of the gifts as the purchase amount goes higher.

Look for Parts Two and Three for the rest of the great ways to make extra money from the clients you already have!

"Techie" Teri Mramer is the busy owner of the new training site sensation, Web Master Insider Training Club Get your free 3 week trial membership today and start building your business web site tomorrow!

History Of Vending Machines

Writen by Marci Crane

It's likely that you've probably never taken the time to sit back and consider vending machines. In fact, you have probably never taken the chance to contemplate the history of vending machines. After all who would? I know I didn't, until I wrote this article and found the history to be surprisingly……well, fascinating. The next time you stop at a vending machine and purchase your favorite sweet, cold soda or that big caramel candy bar you'll remember that even a vending machine is full of history.

What is Vending?

Vending is automatic retailing. Basically a vending machine allows someone to sell their products when he or she is not present to supervise the sales. It is really quite an ingenious concept (after all, we all want more money and more time), and doesn't seem to be a new one either. A certain Greek—a mathematician by profession and interest—whose name was Hero created a vending machine of sorts, which would vend water within Egyptian temples. Many centuries later, vending machines were offered commercially in London. In the 1880s vending sales in London included vending machines that would dispense post cards or books.

Vending Machines Take on a Sweeter Flavor in the United States In 1888 vending machines and vending services and sales were offered commercially in the United States as well. The vending machines in the United States were first introduced by the Thomas Adams Gum Company, whose owners were of course interested in taking advantage of vending machines for the sake of selling their gum. The gum's flavor? Tutti-Fruiti.

Additional Vending Machines is the U.S.A.

As most retailers do, vending machine retailers and buyers began to realize that just vending gum was not exactly a way to capitalize on the concept of vending. In 1897 the Pulver Manufacturing Company began to vend animated figures in addition to gum in order to increase their sales. Spherical vending machines were also introduced in 1907 complete with lots of candy coated gumballs that could be found inside the sphere. American vending machines also offered cigars, stamps and postcards. A vending machine restaurant was also invented in Pennsylvania in 1902 and managed to stay open until 1962. The restaurant's name? Horn & Hardart.

Music to the Ear: The Juke Box Vending Machine

Vending machines provided everything from sweets to books but they didn't produce sound, until the advent of the juke box, which like vending machines had a variety of predecessors. One of the earliest forerunners to the juke box was the nickel-in-the slot machine, which was invented by Louis Glass and Willam S. Arnold in 1889. This machine was actually a phonograph, which would play a recording through sound or listening tubes when a coin was inserted into the apparatus. The tubes soon became a nuisance and juke boxes were invented. Juke boxes allowed listeners to enjoy recordings without tubes and in addition to select from a wider variety of music. Some of the juke boxes, which were commercially available were the Rock-Ola juke boxes (Rockola is a noun, not an adjective), the Seeburg juke boxes, and the Wurlitzer juke boxes.

Discount Vending and Vending Repair

Vending machines soon became a big business in the United States and in other areas around the world as well. New jobs and positions were created in retail vending such as discount vending, vending sales, vending suppliers and vending services. As most inventions do when they help us save time, vending machines made life a little easier for the general population and became a part of the mainstream American lifestyle and culture.

About the Author: Marci Crane is a Web Content Specialist with 10x Marketing in Orem Utah. For more information in regards to vending sales please feel free to contact Ray's Vending.

The Most Important Management Skill

Writen by Terence Traut

I've been teaching management and leadership skills now for over 10 years to new managers and supervisors as well as to seasoned veterans.

I've worked with some of today's leadership and management thought leaders and researchers including Tom Peters, Dr. Warren Bennis, Dr. David Ulrich, and Dr. Henry Mintzberg.

I've met, researched, and worked with some of today's renowned leaders including Captain Mike Abrashoff (author of GrassRoots Leadership and former commander of the U.S.S. Benfold), General Tommy Franks (former commander of CentComm and author of American Soldier), and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group.

I've talked to thousands of employees and looked at what they wanted – NEEDED – from managers that they felt they weren't getting, or getting enough of.

And, perhaps most importantly, I am a manager. I hire, fire, manage performance, coach, cajole, and counsel.

Based on my unique set of experiences, I'd like to share my belief of the most important management skill and I'd like to count down to that skill in Lettermanesque fashion. You can see which skills I considered and why I believe each is important in its own right, but not THE most important skill.

#7 Know What Motivates People – Motivation is an intrinsic thing; theoretically you can't motivate someone who doesn't want to be motivated. While I agree with that, effective managers draw from a variety of techniques to cajole, encourage, inspire, recognize, and otherwise create an environment where many people ARE motivated. They recognize that each person is motivated by different things from simply having a job to contributing to something great. They also realize that what motivates someone tomorrow may be different than what motivates them today.

#6 Walk Around – The best way to manage – to know what's going on, to build the credibility that only comes from someone "in the know" – is to regularly and frequently get out there. More and more managers and supervisors are isolating themselves to get the things done – reports, updates, budgets, analyses – that upper management is demanding. Effective managers know that without the effective performance of their people, all of the ancillary work is for naught. The best way to see what's going on – and to be seen – is MBWA, Management By Wandering Around.

#5 Use the Right Tool – Effective managers can draw from a treasure chest of tools to use one that is most appropriate for the situation. Leadership and management research over the past 100 years has come up with a single definitive conclusion when answering the question, "what's the best approach?" The answer is, "it depends." It depends on the situation, the skills of the leader, the needs of the employees, and the unique interaction of the three. Effective managers have an arsenal of tools to draw from and, most importantly, they have the performance analysis skills to know which tools to use. Coaching, feedback, counseling, feedback, information sharing, self-disclosing, encouragement, recognition, problem-solving, corrective action, and others are options that the effective manager can use at will.

#4 Learn and Practice Your Craft – Like parenting, most new to the position find themselves underprepared for the awesome responsibilities. Like parenting, effective managers study the craft and art of managing. While most of us were promoted to management positions because of our technical expertise (and to some degree our ability to not bump into furniture or tick anyone off), what brought us here won't keep us here. In fact, many of our technical competencies work against us as managers and supervisors. Certainly, there is no shortage of books and courses on management and leadership.

#3 Self-Assess and Course Correct – Almost any management failure can be traced back to an almost conscious decision to ignore the realities of the situation. Ineffective managers and leaders rely heavily on hope as a strategy to get through this. Effective managers and leaders welcome – and seek out – feedback. Effective managers and leaders are like guided missiles knowing that the only way they can reach their target is if they seek in-course feedback and make in-course adjustments. Effective managers use the "start, stop, continue" method of self assessment; to increase my effectiveness:

• What should I start doing that I'm not currently doing?

• What should I stop doing that's not working?

• What should I continue doing because it is working?

#2 Develop Your People – Tom Peters calls this "Job One." Effective managers and supervisors know that they are only as good as the people who do the work. Talented, committed people are a company's #1 asset. Effective managers and supervisors find ways to develop the talents of their people. Training, coaching, peer tutoring, cross-training, in-job development, online learning, job sharing, and delegation are but a few of the techniques that effective managers use to grow the capabilities of their people. In the process, they foster commitment and increase productivity. Not a bad deal for the investment of time and money.

#1 Provide Regular and Balanced Feedback – While the other skills are important, the most important – and the one that most employees consistently ask for more of – is feedback. "How am I doing?" I conducted an employee survey recently asking employees for their input on their bosses' skills in a wide variety of areas from setting clear expectations to creating an upbeat environment. Three of the four most critical areas – areas needing the most attention according to employees – relate to feedback:

• Provide specific positive reinforcement regularly.

• Provide me with regular feedback about my job performance.

• Tell me when I am not meeting expectations.

Out of the 20 questions asked in the survey, only these three related to feedback – and all three appeared on the list of "most needed".

Providing regular and balanced feedback, I would argue, is the most important management and leadership skill for a variety of reasons:

• Employees want it. In my 48 years of living, the most important lesson – from management to parenting to being married to sales to servicing customers – involves 1) finding out what people want, and 2) giving it to them.

• It is free. As managers and leaders, much of what we need to provide our employees costs real money. Desks, computers, health insurance, compensation, and so on all cost money. Giving feedback costs nothing in real dollars; while it requires that you invest time to give feedback, it is just that – an INVESTMENT that will reap huge dividends in increased productivity and morale.

• It elevates the employees' perception of you as a leader. As General Tommy Franks states, "you can't 'manage' a troop of soldiers up a hill under fire; you must lead them." By giving feedback, you put yourself in a role of one who knows and cares. By focusing feedback on the employee's PERFORMANCE (as opposed to the PERSON), you cement your role as a doer.

• It increases performance. With a focus on performance, feedback is instrumental in improving the likelihood that you'll get more from your employees. Feedback is the difference between an artillery shell and a guided missile. Artillery shells are lobbed in the general direction of the target and much of the success of the shot can be attributed to the planning of the shot. Contrast this with the guided missile who's initial trajectory is far less important than the continual feedback it receives as it hones in on its target.

• It is motivational. Most employees – as we've seen in the survey results – want to know how they're doing – both positive feedback and developmental feedback. The reason it's motivational is because most employees want to do a job as effectively and efficiently as possible. With your appropriately worded feedback, you can create an environment in which employees are motivated to perform.

Hold on a second before you rush out to tell you're employees "a thing or two" under the guise of feedback. HOW you give feedback is as important (maybe MORE important) as WHAT you say. Feedback must be helpful, unbiased, balanced, and specific (HUBS).

Helpful — Feedback is given for one reason and one reason only – you are thinking in the best interests of the employee. You want to sincerely help the employee. You recognize the contribution and potential of the employee.

Unbiased — Effective feedback focuses on performance and results. As a result, it is relatively unbiased. Others observing the behavior or results that you're commenting on would agree with your interpretation. "When you raised your voice, several in the group stopped providing input," is relatively unbiased (and actionable); "You frustrated everyone with your rudeness," is biased and exaggerated.

Balanced — Over time, your feedback should be balanced. Providing only positive or only developmental feedback reduces your effectiveness. Note that I am NOT suggesting that you "sandwich" developmental feedback inside of positive feedback; there are times when that technique works and others when it is less effective. I AM suggesting that you provide all employees with a balance of positive reinforcement and developmental feedback.

Specific — Effective feedback is specific, enabling an employee to address a specific developmental need or repeat a specific desirable behavior. Unfocused feedback such as, "You did a great job on that report," is not actionable since the employee doesn't know what specific performance elicited your positive comment. What should the employee do again? What behavior should be repeated? Conversely, what behavior should be stopped? Or how should it change?

Be a leader – give your employees what THEY want and increase the productivity and morale of your team.

Check out Entelechy's website at www.unlockit.com.

Terence R. Traut is the president of Entelechy, Inc., a company that helps organizations unlock the potential of their people through customized training programs in the areas of sales, management, customer service, and training. Terence can be reached at 603-424-1237 or ttraut@unlockit.com.

Language In International Business

Writen by Brenda Townsend Hall

The way that we use language reflects cultural preferences for some types of communicative behaviour while discouraging others. Culture will affect, for example, the extent to which we speak loudly and animatedly or quietly, whether we use lots of 'I' statements, whether we choose very explicit language or whether we are indirect. Intercultural, or cross-cultural, pragmatics is the contrastive or comparative study of such communicative norms aiming to reach a better understanding of the cultural value or values that underpin them and it is a field we can all learn from.

When we help prepare managers to relocate we might usefully consider the role of communicative styles as part of the familiarisation process. The awareness raising could involve styles of communication: for example, the very explicit language used by low-context cultures—speaker-based cultures— as opposed to the imprecise and ambiguous language favoured by high-context cultures—hearer-based cultures.

Situation or context also dictates language choice. In linguistics various terms have been coined for certain types of key expressions that are related to specific contexts or situations. These conversational routines/prefabricated expressions/politeness formulae/situation-bound utterances could well be useful in raising clients' awareness about the relationship between language and culture. In essence, they are expressions whose linguistic meaning is distorted because of the role they have in a specific situation: linguistic meaning versus use. When a British English speaker asks the question: how are you, s/he doesn't expect a lengthy reply about the state of the respondent's health. If an American says 'let's get together some time', s/he may be saying no more than 'goodbye'. If a Japanese speaker says 'yes' in a meeting, it is as well to understand that this is the politeness dictated by the situation and in no way indicates agreement or an undertaking to act.

If we consider the language area of agreeing, as another example, we might note how agreement is in fact signalled not so much by overt language use as by certain types of language 'behaviour' and by accompanying gesture and body language. The overall message is a combination of unspoken signals and carefully chosen words. Merely voicing agreement is not enough to tell you that somebody really is in agreement. This is because to express open disagreement could be difficult for all kinds of cultural reasons. In a very hierarchical society, it would be unwise to express open disagreement to a superior. In a group-oriented culture, it would be difficult to disagree if the group as a whole was going in the opposite direction.

In fact someone who is really in agreement is likely to take off into other types of linguistic behaviour such as asking questions, summarising, echoing, and perhaps offering to do something to take the matter further. There will also be aspects of gesture and expression that reinforce this. The problem for the listeners is that by relying on the explicit meaning of the message alone, they are likely to misinterpret apparent agreement, for the sake of politeness, as wholehearted agreement.

Asking questions, is another communicative activity to look at. By questioning we may be seeking to influence the hearer in ways beyond the apparent intention of seeking information. We can ask questions:to show we are actively listening to what someone has to say; in order to encourage them to elaborate and expatiate; to draw timid or less confident people into a conversation (open ended questions); to interrogate (yes/no questions).

Yet, if we really want to gain information, then techniques for eliciting, such as re-formulation or invitations to explain further are likely to be more effective than direct questions. People may become defensive or resentful if questioning techniques are too obtrusive. Activities are needed to help the international business person use questioning techniques more effectively and match them to an appropriate communicative strategy.

Alerting clients to the potential for misunderstanding, for giving and taking offence, for having progress frustrated, through not knowing the cultural norms of language use is surely a field those training managers to work across cultures should not neglect.

Brenda Townsend Halll is a communications and cross-cultural trainer and an associate member of the ITAP International Alliance.

Scams Schemes Gimmicks Cons

Writen by Scott Hughes

Unfortunately, one of the realities of internet business is the scam, schemes gimmicks, and cons. Of course, scams, schemes, and such have been around long before the internet, but just like the internet has increased and facilitated genuine business, the internet has also helped black-hat confidence men spread their dirty scams and schemes.

Most of the schemes fall under the categories of ponzi, pyramid, or MLM (multi-level-marketing). A ponzi scheme is a scheme in which "members" join by paying a fee, told that they will receive an income without working, but the income is paid by giving them a portion of other members fees. Many people are familiar with a pyramid scheme or MLM. Both are flawed business models, in which "sponsors" are paid commissions off the sales of other people they recruit into the scheme, both directly and indirectly. Most pyramid schemes and MLM don't even really sell a product; Instead they just sell "start-up" packages. The inherent flaw of the pyramid scheme is that it continuously needs exponentially more sellers to sponsor. Eventually, the pyramid collapses, leaving all but the few con men at the top broke.

One thing I always recommend against is using any program that claims you can make easy money online fast with a small fee. There's a lot of scams out there that say you can make money taking surveys, entering data, stuffing envelopes, or etc. They don't work. They're just scams and schemes. Basically, if it sounds to good to be true, it is. If you'll make so much money with these programs, why do they need the small fee beforehand? Couldn't they just take the fee out of your pay? They can't take the fee out of your pay, because you're never going to get any.

Remember, the only free lunch is found in a mouse trap.

Scott Hughes creates and runs many successful e-businesses. Read more articles like this on his website, Web Business Resource, at http://webbizresource.com.

Pixel Pages Is There Any More Money To Be Made

Writen by Andrew Nielsen

In August 2005 a young Englishman by the name of Alex Tew got a bright idea. He wanted to make money on the internet to pay for his studies. The idea had to be simple, not take too much of his time and be able to generate a lot of money. Selling advertising space could generate money, but the traditional way of advertising with banners on a webpage simply wouldn't do. To make a lot of money, a lot of webpages, space and time would be needed. So Alex thought of selling really small ads – and a lot of them – on one webpage. Alex created an image made of 1,000 times 1,000 pixels – a total of 1,000,000 – and intended to sell each pixel for $1. This one image could fit to one webpage and would generate $1,000,000 if all pixels were sold. And thus, the Million Dollar Homepage was born.

Alex – like any good salesman - started by pestering friends and family and urging them to buy some pixels from him. As he started getting orders, he made the very wise decision of alerting the media of his idea. The media liked the idea of the entrepreneurial student trying to make money on the internet for his studies by coming up with an idea that simple. Alex played the media very well indeed and appeared in print, radio, TV and on the internet. As the story picked up two months into the project, Alex hired a media consultant to help him handle the frenzy. It took only 5 months until the 1,000,000 pixels were sold and the $1,000,000 were made.

Quickly a lot of copycats copied Alex' idea and many more have followed. It is now estimated that there are now more than 4,000 sites selling pixels in a way similar to the Million Dollar Homepage. Only a very tiny fraction of these are actually making any money, so why is that?

The original page owes its success primarily to the publicity it got in the media. As any new copycat website has no or very little news value, why would anyone pick up on the story? As there are now more than 4,000 very similar sites, how could any one site generate enough traffic for advertisers to be interested in buying advertising space?

There are slight variations over the basic business idea of pixel advertising. Some pixel websites now offer free pixels and premium pixels with better location than the free ones. Some websites offer pixels on a picture of the moon or a map of a certain country or region. Other websites offer intricate ways of trading pixels or pixels at $0.01 or less.

Currently it appears that the pixel websites offering free pixels are generating the most traffic. It is likely that the majority of this traffic is from advertisers wanting to make use of the offer for free inbound links to their website.

In my view, there will never be another website making any significant amount of money on simply selling pixels, no matter what variation over the basic idea they may follow.

There are however still business opportunities related to pixel advertising. First of all, a number of websites are offering scripts which can support pixel websites. Those who want to create a pixel website can purchase a script which provides a ready made website with automated payment handling, uploading of pixel ads etc. A large number of new pixel websites have been created with such scripts and this area of business still appear to be reasonably brisk.

Another area related to pixel advertising is websites catering for the 'pixel community' - administrators of pixel websites and those dreaming of making their own site. Such internet users are keen on promoting, voting, categorising and comparing their own websites to others'. Websites likes The Pixel Wars list a large number of pixel websites and allows its visitors to cast their vote for websites they like the best or least. They also have a forum where pixel website administrators can share ideas or discuss the latest trends in pixel advertising. A visit to alexa.com reveals that a website like The Pixel Wars has decent visitor numbers and that it may therefore be possible to generate decent advertising income on it.

It is anyone's guess what the future of pixel advertising will be. In my view, no new site selling pixels will ever make any significant revenue. To make money on the internet, there are plenty other more profitable roads to follow.

About the author: Andrew Nielsen is the author of "The Online Business Builder". He is an internet entrepreneur and is currently helping business start-ups and individuals make money on the Internet. Visit http://www.i-want-to-be-rich.com or mailto: an@i-want-to-be-rich.com.

Web Site Etiquette

Writen by Judith Kallos

Contrary to what some may believe, the Web is not an anything goes environment. Considerations and courtesies need to be implemented by all users so that everyone can look forward to a more enjoyable or productive experience.

When it comes to Web sites, there seems to be a lack of common consideration and courtesy by many Web site owners and visitors alike. If both sides were to understand the basics, and the following checklist covers just the basics, Web site owners will produce more ROI, while Web site visitors will find their inquiries are responded to more accurately and concisely.

Basic Etiquette for Web Site Owners:

• Minimize the moving, flashing this or that or the latest whiz-bang script. This goes for having too many advertisements on your site that take forever to load as well. Take our word for it we'll be gone by then. If you want us to buy your products or services, stay away from Flash. We don't care about all that fancy schmancy stuff-we just want to find what we are looking for and don't want to have to download software (and we won't) just to view your site.
• Have consistent, intuitive navigation in the same place on every page throughout your site. Make sure you also offer a "Home" option in your navigation so we can get to the start of your site if we so choose. Don't use buzzwords or make us wonder what is where; we should be able to tell at a glance and be where we want in no more than 2 clicks.
• Make a point of having all your company's contact information easily found on your site. If not on every page, at the very least on your Contact page. No address or phone number (What are you trying to hide?)--no business from us!
• Please be clear and concise about your policies so that we know what to expect if we choose to do business with you. Have your policies posted on your site where we can easily find them for review.
• At the very least make an effort to respond quickly to our specific inquiries in detail. Don't send us canned or generic responses that really do not address our questions. The more detailed and promptly you respond, the more likely we will do business with you.

Basic Etiquette for Web Site Visitors:

• Take the time to review our site to ensure our focus will in fact cover what you are seeking. Sites cannot be everything to everyone and most are not. Don't e-mail an orange site about where to find the best apples! Review our site's FAQ before you take the time to e-mail us about something we do not even cover.
• Take the time to read the offered material on our site before e-mailing us asking questions that with little effort the answers could have been found. With all information we provide literally at your fingertips, take the time to read it before you take our time asking us to repeat what is already on our site. This includes reading our privacy statements and/or order policies before you engage in doing business with us.
• When e-mailing our site, make an effort to type clearly and concisely about what you would like to know. All caps or all small case, poor grammar and typos makes your inquiries appear less credible. Understand we are extremely busy answering genuine customer e-mails to build our business. E-mails that appear to be from a sixth grader are those less likely to receive our serious consideration for a response.
• To use our site's functionality, please read our help files and tutorials that are provided to assist you before you e-mail for support simply because you don't want to make the effort to read and learn. Certainly if after making a sincere effort you still have questions, e-mailing us asking for help in a kind and courteous manner will ensure our response.
• When utilizing our site's live online chat, be as courteous as you would if you were face-to-face with the support agent. These folks are here to help you. Here again, type using proper sentence structure, grammar and spelling so your request is understood. Then, once your session is completed, be sure to thank the operator for their time and assistance before just clicking off and going on your way. That always makes our day!

All too often both Web site owners and visitors think too much about themselves and what they want rather than to give thought to the other side. Wouldn't it be nice if that were reversed?

About the Author: Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse who has played @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular Software, Programming and Web Design Cheat Sheets @ http://www.LearnAndThrive.com

Reverse Merger A Vision Without A Strategy Is A Prescription For Failure

Writen by Joseph Quinones

Many business owner with a dream to take their company public often neglect to prepare and plan for the future, very few small and mid-size companies have a business plan.

A business plan is like a road map, and can be liken to when you go on a journey sometimes you need to change direction, it doesn't mean your destination changes, you are just getting there via a different route.

A vision is some thing that is birth in the mind and soul of the individual, some people act on it and others procrastinate for a period of time only to see someone else take their dream and bring it to fruition.

The dream giver will only allow you to sit on your dream for so long before giving it to someone else. You often hear people saying " I had that idea two or three years ago", what good is an idea without taking action, but with the action there must be a strategy.

Businesses don't plan to fail, they fail because they fail to plan. Entrepreneurs usually are visionaries who get an idea and run with it but, if you look at the successful ones they always had a plan, and a team to help them bring their dream to the market plece.

The team can sometimes get you to the top, but it's the strategy that takes you over the top, so don't settle for second best, be the best.

If you look at a twenty year chart of Microsoft Corporation, or Yahoo Inc. You will find that at one time their stock traded under a dollar but through brilliant strategies they were able to accomplished great things.

Just like Bill Gates had a plan so must you develop one. Bill Gates also had Paul Allen so must you find someone who can complement your weak point. If you are not a good strategist go out and find yourself one who is not a yes man.

The phrase "no man is an island" is most applicable in the corporate environment, where team work is essential for success.

In small companies the dreamer is required at times to do everything and become efficient in every task, which is beneficial because he should know the functions of every department in the company. But he should have competent personnel in those position in order for him to be able to see the entire picture.

This is where being a public company comes in handy, it allow the entrepreneur to use the company stock as an incentive to attract more competent and better qualified personnel and retain them. It also makes it possible for the company stock to be used for acquisition purposes.

Team work is essential in order to be able to succeed. I remember in the 1980's investing in a company the appear to have a dream team for it's management, everyone involved in management had a PHD and an ego to match it. A friend of mine who was the investment banker for the company related to me how he attended a meeting with the company and it was complete chaos, each person appear to think that their opinion was the only one deserving of consideration. Needless to say the company eventually file for chapter eleven.

An entrepreneur must check his ego and keep it under control in order be able to lead those around him, nobody likes to work with an egomaniac.

I believe that meetings can be useful or a waste of time, if all you do at a meeting is inform the staff of what you are doing or what you would like them to do, you are wasting valuable time that could be use to implement the corporate strategy. This can be done with a memo.

In order for a meeting to be of some value it must include a free exchange of ideas, a good leader seeks to know what those who are in the corporate battle field think. Because they are the one who are in the trenches, in a position to be able to hear what customers and employees are thinking and saying.

A good advisory service can sometimes be beneficial to assist in the evaluation of potential merger and acquisition candidates, to help identify potential candidates for joint ventures, or investment. Also helps with the due diligence process, the structuring of the transaction and the development of corporate strategies for growth and investment.

A good advisory service will evaluate your company and advise you as

to the best way to go public, either traditional IPO, Reverse Merger or Regulation D (504) offering.

Once the decision has been made on which method to use in going public (for many small companies is either Reverse merger or Regulation D (504) offering.) The consultant used, must be able to guide you through the intricacies of the public arena. And have financial industry contacts.

Don't sit on your dream waiting for the perfect situation because it may never come, had Bill Gates waited until Microsoft's public shares could justify a higher price before going public, he might still be waiting.

Microsoft and Yahoo are not isolated situation but just two of many who looked at the challenge and saw an opportunity. I guess the old saying " faint hearts never won fair ladies " is still apropos today.

For additional information please contact Genesis Corporate Advisor.

www.genesiscorporateadvisors.com
josephquinones@genesiscorporateadvisors.com

Joseph D. Quinones, President of Genesis Corporate Advisors has spent over 25 years in the securities industry. In 1992 he founded JDQ Financial Group, Inc. and proceeded to build it up from a one man operation to the point where it employed many traders, advised numerous client and generate millions in revenues.

Business Gift Baskets

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

Business gift baskets are an ideal way to recognize an employee's talent or to make a good impression on your clients. A company can also customize these gift baskets according to the occasion and budget. Business gift baskets can be filled with chocolates, coffee hampers, cookies, wines, champagne, caviar and so forth. Most gift suppliers also design theme-based gift baskets, like exotic fruit baskets, wine baskets, cabernet and cheese baskets, gourmet baskets, chocolate baskets, sweets and snacks baskets, and so forth.

A business house may award business gift baskets to its employees on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and holidays, or as a token of appreciation after a promotion or at the time of retirement. Some businesses occasionally send gifts baskets to their associates and clients, either to promote their products or merely as a goodwill gesture.

However, one should always follow certain conventions while sending gift baskets to clients, and take into consideration the etiquette and corporate policies followed by the client company to avoid unnecessary hassles. Some companies follow strict policies regarding gifts, wherein a company might be forbidden to accept any gifts at all, or some clients might have restrictions regarding the valuation of gifts.

Therefore, before sending a gift to the client, one should ask the client directly or contact the personnel department to find out about the limitations and guidelines followed by the company. An appropriate business gift or gift basket can truly boost an employee's morale and can also help cultivate positive business relationships.

Business Gifts provides detailed information on Business Gifts, Promotional Business Gifts, Corporate Business Gifts, Business Gift Baskets and more. Business Gifts is affiliated with Personalized Wedding Gifts.

Design Psychology For Your Office

Writen by Jeanette Joy Fisher

Using Design Psychology in your office increases both happiness and productivity. Here are some interior design tips on how to make your office a more pleasant and productive place:

Provide Friendly Lighting

Begin your office makeover with lighting, the number one design detail for happiness. Overly-bright overhead lighting can cause problems with eyestrain, headaches, and fatigue. You can install dimmers and add task lighting where needed to correct that situation.

Using home-style lamps lends a friendly atmosphere to an office space and improves productivity. Home-like table lamps provide a feeling of comfort, because our minds are accustomed to that type of lighting. Floor lamps are also another good supplemental light source, and have the added benefit of freeing up work space on desks.

Use iridescent blue colored light bulbs to cool the space in summer. Likewise, amber bulbs warm cold offices during cool weather.

Use Creative Colors on the Walls

Many colors effectively enhance creativity, including soft grays, warm tans, and silver blues. Because gray is the only color without an "after image" left in our brain, soft grays provide great backgrounds for in-depth thinking. Warm tans reinforced with far-horizon desert or beach paintings sustain concentration. Silver blues and cotton-candy pinks inspire fantasy, making these colors perfect for writers.

Overall efficiency can be improved by using sky and navy blues, black accents, and muted greens.

Decorative wall paint like glazing adds a greater sense of dimension to a room. The subtle striations in these finishes make the walls appear to recede.

Dress Your Office to Impress

If you're dressing your office to impress your clients, use over-scaled office furniture, welcoming home-style lighting, and large landscape paintings (to add a sense of visual depth). Combine those elements with tropical foliage to bring nature indoors, which relaxes you and your guests. Bookcases filled with books and closed files signify that you are knowledgeable and organized.

Consider how you want your guests to feel. If you want to look like an expert in your field, display your credentials. Relax guests with something unexpected that portrays your humility like a photo with you in a silly costume. If you have a known degree, don't intimidate your guests with cluttering framed degrees and lots of awards. Be selective with wall hangings, less is better for concentration on the important item in the space -- the people.

Using the techniques of Design Psychology can transform your office into a more productive and enjoyable space for yourself, employees, and clients.

(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Joy to the Home, Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars: Using Design Psychology to Increase Real Estate Profits and other books teaches Design Psychology and Real Estate Investing. For more interior design articles, tips, reports and newsletters, see Design Psychology